The Infratructure Snake

The neighborhood of Delray, situated within the city limits of Detroit, MI, within walking distance of the Ambassador Bridge to Canada, represents one of the nation’s poorest and dilapidated neighborhoods. Compounding the site’s financial condition, Delray lies in the most polluted area of the city, bordering the steel manufacturing plant on Zug Island. Aside from the toxic chemicals that are regulated by the EPA, there are high levels of carbon dioxide emitted by not only the local industries, but also the major highways that curtail the site. Our team views this industrial waste as a resource, and we therefore propose to harvest the carbon dioxide emitted on the site for the cultivation of algal growth for the production of biodiesel fuel. The objective is not to produce enough fuel to sustain an alternative fuel culture, but instead as a driver for an alternative fuel research, development, and educational network. Algae requires four ingredients, all of which are located on site in large quantities: carbon dioxide, greywater, nutrient cocktail containing nitrogen, potassium, and sugar, and large swaths of vacant space to grow. our team has identified multiple spaces where there is ample space for algae cultivation. Therefore the logistics of the material transfer to and from nodal points form the basis of our Master Plan, our "Infra-structure Snake". These nodes consume land that has been left vacant; overgrown swaths are repurposed as algal research stations, production facilities, or education centers connected to each other by the infrastructure required to sustain them. As the Snake weaves its way through the wastes, it transforms the landscape, creating a new face for the city of Detroit, as well as hope for a reborn industrial future.